


Perchance to Dream

by palomino333



Category: L.A. Noire
Genre: Dreams, F/M, Homelessness, Inspired by Music, Long-Term Relationship(s), Older Woman/Younger Man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-22 09:34:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3723946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/palomino333/pseuds/palomino333
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for a flash fiction challenge: morality. Camped out for a night in the train yard, Evelyn and James talk about the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perchance to Dream

"We could run away," Evelyn murmured wistfully, staring off into the distance, the waiting trains dwarfing her makeshift tent, "Get onto one of the trains, and go where it goes."

She could feel James's smile in her neck. "Where would you want to go?"

"I would have said New York once," she replied softly, "But now, I think somewhere quiet, green."

James's breath tickled the hairs on the back of her neck. "That sounds nice."

"It wouldn't bore you?" She asked.

"As long as we're together."

She wondered from time to time when he would finally realize that he could do better than her, and leave. She sighed. "But then, I can't."

Tiernan pulled away at that, and she twisted about to look at him. Fixing her with an earnest expression, he replied, "I could make it work, if you really wanted to."

Evelyn smiled back, but it slipped away just as fast. "James, I can't. Look," reaching into her badly worn messenger bag, she drew out a flyer to present to him.

He grimaced at the image of McCaffery, followed by questions as to whether workers were truly being treated well. Ignoring his reaction, Evelyn explained, "He is taking a stand for the people who are abused and discarded in this city, people like me."

Tiernan lifted his gaze from the flyer. "Evelyn, you don't owe this city anything."

She dropped it between them. "I know, but there are other men and women who suffer like me. Maybe if I helped to make a difference, I could prevent that from happening to someone else. I know what it's like to lose everything, and no one should have to live through that."

Tiernan's voice rose. "Just think about it a little. Something about this guy rubs me the wrong way."

"People get that impression of me, too," she muttered, looking away.

James felt ready to throw his hands in the air, but decided against it. "That didn't turn me away, though."

She glanced back at him. "So why would you doubt my judgment in this?"

He lunged forward, grasping her hands. "Evelyn, I don't want to lose you! I've heard some fishy things about McCaffrey, and I just want to keep you safe," he explained, and upon remembering himself, let go.

Evelyn's voice wavered. "James, I'd want nothing more than to be happy with you, but I'd have to live with the fact that I did nothing when I could have helped others." The flyer crinkled as she rolled it back up.

He sighed. "Well, that's okay, then." She glanced up at that to see that earnest look on his face again. "I can wait, I promise."

She embraced him, wondering in the back of her mind as to whether trash like her was actually worthy of such a promise. He ran his hand through her hair, and swallowed back the worry that despite how close he was holding her, she was slipping away.

**Author's Note:**

> Funny thing, I realized the other night how closely Evelyn Summers and James Tiernan's relationship paralleled Cole and Elsa's. Interesting dynamic. I'd been wanting to do a fanfic on this couple for quite a while. 
> 
> "Familiar Taste of Poison" by Halestorm provided part of the inspiration for this, especially its noir-esque music video.
> 
> Prompt: Morality  
> Words: 494


End file.
